Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Time Management game?

Time Management + Thriller

Of 42 developers who shipped a Thriller Time Management game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 65 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 65 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 65 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $20k → $2.4k → $539 → $719 → $2.3k (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,076)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,030)
Top 5% $142k (exactly $142,382)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 86
Announced 65
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 170% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Immersive Sim
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,110 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced
  12. + Mystery DungeonFair11 devs · median $898 · 8 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Pacify 2019 · $4.9M Backrooms: Lost Tape 2022 · $640k The Price Of Flesh 2022 · $467k Sunken Engine 2026 · $366k Asbury Pines 2025 · EA · $217k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Backrooms: Lost Tape older $15.99 1,334 81% 40k $640k (exactly $639,920) Cortez Productions
The Price Of Flesh older $14.99 1,038 96% 31k $467k (exactly $466,789) Gatobob
Sunken Engine $14.99 814 80% 24k $366k (exactly $366,056) Two Nomads Studio
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
Life Eater older $14.99 330 86% 9.9k $148k (exactly $148,401) Strange Scaffold
Tostchu $7.99 594 84% 18k $142k (exactly $142,382) Ravenscape Collective
the cabin game · EA $11.99 362 86% 11k $130k (exactly $130,211) Twisted Corridor👻
Corner Shop: NightShift $19.99 206 84% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) Live Motion Games
Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue older $49.99 61 40% 1.8k $91k (exactly $91,482) Dreamloop Games
Angel Engine $7.99 303 80% 9.1k $73k (exactly $72,629) HMS Studios, Black Lantern Collective
Decide 4 God $29.99 49 93% 1.5k $44k (exactly $44,085) Miracle Moon
LockYourDoor $8.99 143 87% 4.3k $39k (exactly $38,567) Penguin's Autumn
Beyond R: Rule Ripper $24.99 32 90% 960 $24k (exactly $23,990) Tohriv, GJ Staff
Cult Vacui $7.50 49 97% 1.5k $11k (exactly $11,025) LBRTY games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.